Conventionally, there have been developed various types of teaching systems that graphically display a three-dimensional model image of a robot system on a display device based on three-dimensional computer aided design (CAD) data or the like and creates teaching data while carrying out a simulation operation on an operation of the robot system by operating the three-dimensional model image.
Such teaching systems enable an operator to create teaching data without actually operating the robot.
“TEACHING METHOD OF COATING ROBOT AND COATING METHOD” disclosed in Japanese Patent Application laid-open No. 2011-005612, for example, is a method for creating teaching data for a coating robot that coats a car body or the like off-line.
The conventional technology, however, has room for improvement in terms of facilitating teaching on the coating use.
Specifically, to coat a car body or the like, teaching for the coating robot is carried out by setting a plurality of target points on a coating surface and causing a coating gun attached to the coating robot to trace a locus obtained by connecting the target points.
In the conventional technology, however, it is necessary for an operator or the like to set the target points one by one even if the coating surface has a large area like a car body. This makes the process complicated. Furthermore, the coating surface is likely to include a curved surface and an uneven surface. This makes it difficult for the operator to visually set the target points appropriately on the three-dimensional model displayed on the display device.
The disadvantages described above occur not only in coating use and are common to general processing use including surface processing, such as blasting, polishing, and padding.